How are NFTs affecting the gaming industry?
Zarzilla Games
Pioneers of Social games. Monstrous fun on a global scale. Zarzilla Games? is an independent social game developer.
NFT or non-fungible tokens are non-interchangeable units of data stored on a blockchain that can be bought, sold and traded. This means that you can certify and verify that a virtual item (NFT) is authentic and individually owned within a decentralized open network. When playing games within a metaverse with your NFTs, these NFTs have real-world monetary and economic value.
To prove ownership of your NFT, all you have to do is to go into your virtual wallet to access your digital certificates. As Sam Dean explains, “That means that the chain of custody is marked in the file itself permanently, and it’s practically impossible to swap in a fake.”
Whereas fungible tokens are interchangeable – like money, gold or bitcoin that depend on one parameter for trade- for example amount or weight, non-fungible tokens are NOT interchangeable. Michael Jordan uses the analogy of a diamond to explain this. For example, when purchasing a diamond you’d check its cut, colour and clarity before making the purchase. The same goes with NFTs. Rather than the quantity of the item (fungible tokens), we are looking at the quality of the item; its rarity or uniqueness which is much more valuable to users across the web.
So what types of NFTs could you buy within the Metaverse? At the moment you can purchase digital files such as GIFs, digital art, profile pictures (like the Bored Ape Yacht Club), celebrity merchandise (for example Paris Hilton’s/Grimes’ photos and animations), games, Metaverses (Sandbox, Decentraland), memes, sports, fashion (which have no physical world limitations), airdrops, photos, videos, and audio files. NFTs are usually purchased with Ether (a type of bitcoin) over the blockchain with a crypto wallet (like MetaMask).
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash. Profile NFTs example: Bored Ape Yacht Club
But I can hear you saying, can’t anyone copy and paste an artwork from the web? Yes. Anyone can buy a Van Gogh print in the real physical world but only one person can actually own the original. The issue is that with digital art/assets, a copy is literally as good as the original.
So how are NFTs perfect for gaming?
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The foundations and framework of online games already sustain the network of interchangeable NFTs. Within the accepted construct of a video game, there is a space to buy, sell or trade items in your arsenal or items to win whilst levelling up. NFTs on the other hand are now giving the user control over their own assets within games rather than passing over the control to in-game developers which is usually restricted and limited to personalization and customization. This is how the traditional business models are shifting from pay-to-play with play-to-earn
At the moment, the metaverse and its platforms are largely utilized by the elite who can afford so spend around $10,000+ to buy real estate in the sandbox and can fill them up with their NFTs. Due to this, there have been major collaborations between brands like Gucci and Roblox amongst others which has created an experiential space for commerce for a specific target audience. If this trend continues to catch on, the trend is that the rarest, unusual NFTs are currently the most expensive and sought after.
The fabric and makeup of the internet is currently centralized i.e in-game assets and virtual system can be found and localized on centralized servers. Decentralization refers to a Web 3.0 environment that sustains games on multiple servers built on various blockchains that form the foundation of games. Two games created on Ethereum for example can trade their NFTs making them interchangeable items. If the server is somehow disconnected, users still own their NFT assets over the blockchain which provides a cushion for it’s potential risk portfolio.
Why do we play games? We play games for entertainment, to pass the time, to show off our mad skills or even to connect to our friends in virtual/online communities. NFTs and the Metaverse has transformed and catapulted the rules and accepted behaviours of game play into a more personalized and customized environment that promotes creation, curation and diversity. The possibilities are endless.
Interested in trying out one of our games? We recommend Gin Rummy Super.
By?Sophie Vella?| Community, Brand & ASO Manager At Zarzilla